Michelle “Mikki” Hebl, the Martha and Henry Malcolm Lovett Professor of Psychological Sciences and professor in the Jones Graduate School of Business ar Rice University in Houston, Texas, is the 2023 recipient of the Advancing Women in Leadership Award from the Academy of Management.
When reflecting on the award, Dr. Hebl said she owes a lot to her own undergraduate experience at Smith College, a liberals arts educational institution for women in Northampton, Massachusetts. “It made me very aware of the gender inequities that have existed and continue to predominantly affect women in our world,” she said. “I have been blessed to be able to watch so many Rice women and people from underrepresented backgrounds break down barriers that have long held them back from reaching their full potential.”
Dr. Hebl added: “I love my students, and I believe in them. I also know we will eventually see the pendulum swing forward the right way and women will gain the professional and personal rights that they so deserve. They will be CEOs en masse, they will have paid leave, they will have the right to choose, and they will not have to ‘juggle the struggle.’ I am hopeful that I get to see that day, and until then, my work is unfinished.”
Dr. Hebl earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Smith College. She earned a master’s degree in psychology at Texas A&M University and a Ph.D. in psychology from Dartmouth College.